Seaweed harvesting
Seaweed harvesting, another traditional industry, is now much less important to the local economy than it once was, although it is still carried out in some places. Seaweed, mainly kelp, stranded at the top of the shore and known as tangle, has long been collected and spread on the land as a fertiliser and soil conditioner and is a vital source of trace elements. Other seaweeds, in particular egg wrack, are harvested from the shore as the raw material for the alginate industry. Alginates are used in the manufacture of a wide range of food and pharmaceutical products, the brewing industry and also in the dyeing industry.